Demand for MLA’s arrest

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Guwahati,May 2: The ruling Congress-BPF alliance came under strain following demands by an executive member of the Assam PCC to dismiss the BPF-administered BTC and arrest of senior MLA Pramila Rani Brahma over the violence in the Bodo belt.

Abdul Khaleque, a former Congress MLA from Jania, also urged the party leadership to call off the alliance.

The BPF has one minister in the Gogoi cabinet.

He said BPF MLA Brahma should be immediately arrested for her statement, made a couple of days ago, about non-Bodos, especially Muslims, not voting for her party’s Kokrajhar candidate in the April 24 Lok Sabha elections.

“How did she know that non-Bodos have not voted for the BPF? Did she see the votes? Her observation has also played a part in the recent round of violence. Therefore, I demand her arrest and the dismissal of the Hagrama Mohilary-led BTC administration,” Khaleque told The Telegraph.

The killings have again put the Bodo belt on the boil even before the dust kicked off by the 2012 Kokrajhar riots, had settled. The riots had left both Delhi and Dispur shaken.

Khaleque was also against the handing over of more departments, including home, to the BPF, as it was not being able to “handle” the existing departments.

The BPF was seeking the home department for “effective management” of the law and order situation. The home department is currently with the state government, with Gogoi as home minister.

The Assam PCC has described the killings as poll-related and condemned it in the strongest terms.

The party’s chief spokesperson, Mehdi Alam Bora, also sought strict action against those involved in the killings and urged the local residents to maintain peace.

Another former Congress MLA, Mohan Basumatary, described the development as unfortunate as it has come despite the chief minister appointing “a very experienced person having dealt with insurgency for over 15 years”, as the director-general of police.

“The killings took place despite strong local informers. The locals have blamed Pramila Rani Brahma and Hagrama Mohilary for the violence. We hope the government will take necessary steps to unearth the truth and the law to take its own course,” Basumatary said.